Detective Superintendent Gordon McCreadie

© College of Policing / SafeLives / Police Scotland

Domestic Abuse In Scotland

Scale

Structure

Legislation

Culture & Training

26%of violent crime

9 hours per incident

20%of all operational time

Scale

60,000reports made per year

Scale

9Homicides

every year (16% of 56)

Scale

16%of all homicides

in Scotland.

100%detection rate.

82%of perpetrators

were men.

55%no recorded

domestic history with police.

Structure

TIER 1 - RESPONSE POLICING

13 Local Police Divisions, responding to incoming demand and investigation

TIER 3 - DATFSpecialist national

investigators investigating Serial Perpetrators

TIER 2 - DIVISIONAL DOMESTIC ABUSE SPECIALISTS

Specialist investigators based in division supporting Tier 1

TIER 1 - RESPONSE POLICING

13 Local Police Divisions, responding to incoming demand and investigation

TIER 3 - DATFSpecialist national

investigators investigating Serial Perpetrators

TIER 2 - DIVISIONAL DOMESTIC ABUSE SPECIALISTS

Specialist investigators based in division supporting Tier 1

Domestic Abuse Coordination Unit

Structure

Benefits of a Single Service Approach

• One Command and Control System• Deployment of the most appropriate resource• National Information about Perps / Victims• Single National Policy / Approach• Balance of National and Local - Partnerships /

Specialist Divisions

Joint Protocol

MARAC

DSDAS MATAC

Structure - Partnerships

Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act

Before the Act After the Act• Domestic Abuse was not a criminal

offence in its own right.

• Investigation focussed on occurrences in isolation i.e. assaults, communications offences or ‘breaches of the peace’.

• There was no legislation which took account of the full range of abusive behaviours.

• Evidence of the full nature of the abusive relationship could not be led to the courts.

• Prosecution / sentencing focussed on these single instances.

• New offence created recognising the gravity of Domestic Abuse. Up to 14 years imprisonment.

• Recognition that coercive control is as damaging as physical violence.

• Legislation captures all abusive behaviours under one offence whether financial, sexual, psychological, physical or emotional. Includes property and pets!

• Recognised the use of children and creation of an aggravation.

• Presumption in favour of granting NHO’s.

• Accused not permitted to cross-examine victims.

Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act

Culture and Training

“Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast!”

Culture and Training

Culture and Training

Methodology

How is it being delivered and sustained?

E-Learning

Champions

Core Training

• Commenced November 2018• Completion by commencement of Act• Future Proofed – new mobile devices• Now looking at Scottish partnerships

• 750 officers / staff sustaining change• Key enablers to embed legislative change• Positive re-enforcement of good practice• Developmental opportunity

• Co-delivered – Police & Partner DA SME• Commenced January 2019• 608 training sessions – 25 per course• 11,000 of 14,000 trained to date

What Have We Learned?Learning

CommunicationsInternal

What Have We Learned?Learning

CommunicationsExternal

What Have We Learned?Learning

• Barriers to working together include funding, competing ideologies and at time people themselves.

• The messages we communicate to the public must be consistent.

• No one service can eradicate domestic abuse alone. We must collaborate to deliver!

Partnerships

Questions?

“Remember – We need to be more persistent than the Perpetrator!”

Questions?

“Remember – We need to be more persistent than the Perpetrator!”